§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Prime Minister whether Her Majesty's Government has a uniform definition of rural and urban. [81894]
§ The Prime MinisterThere is no unique approach to defining urban or rural areas. Indeed many areas exhibit characteristics of both.
However, definitions are needed to target programmes for urban and rural areas and for statistical purposes. In these cases, urban is defined as 'built-up settlements with a minimum population of 1,000 and a minimum land area of 20 hectares'. And the Countryside Agency has an existing methodology for defining rural areas; work is currently under way across Departments to refine that methodology.